Hardcover - 192 pages. colour & b/w illustrations. - This Haynes Manual, with a foreword by Apollo 15 Commander David R. Scott, describes a truly unique vehicle, part car, part spacecraft, from its uncertain gestation in the 1960s through its ultimate engineering design and build challenges, to its extraordinary off-road drives through the rugged lunar highlands in the 1970s, when the lives of six human beings depended on it.
The absorbing text focuses on the Lunar Rover's engineering, design and operation, and is supported by many technical drawings and stunning images from the rich NASA photographic archive.
Key Content:
* Published to coincide with the 40th anniversary of mankind's final drive on the Moon in December 2012.
* The background to the Lunar Rover (LRV) project that led to the creation of this revolutionary lightweight electric vehicle, three examples of which still sit on the Moon's surface.
* The anatomy of the Lunar Rover: structure; wheels and suspension; engine and power; driving controls; navigation and communication; stowage.
* The performance of the Lunar Rover on the Moon, with first-hand accounts of taken from the complete transcripts of the crews' reaction to driving across the Moon.
* The legacy of the Lunar Rover: other wheeled vehicles on the Moon; Lunhakhods; the Lunar Rover's contribution to Mars exploration vehicles.
* Appendix detailing where LRVs rest today, both on the Moon and on Earth.